Broadband users in Singapore are satisfied with fibre services: OpenNet

Nurdianah Md Nur |
Nov. 22, 2013

The rapid adoption of fibre in the city-state might be due to service providers offering faster speeds of up to 200Mbps at the same cost as for a 100Mbps connection last year.

A Fibre Index Survey commissioned by OpenNet revealed that 88 percent of fibre broadband subscribers in Singapore are currently satisfied with the service, marking a 14 percent increase from last year.

According to OpenNet, its subscriber base stood at 450,000 in October 2013, indicating a fibre penetration of more than one in three households in Singapore. The high penetration rate might be due to the fact that service providers now offer faster speeds of up to 200Mbps at the same cost as for a 100Mbps connection just one year ago. As Singaporeans were found to be frequent users of the internet (83 percent), it is not surprising that more are jumping onto the fibre broadband wagon to enjoy faster internet connection.

Fibre broadband services can be used to benefit businesses in Singapore too. For example, SP Services is using fibre broadband services to support its work-from-home scheme for its call centre operations. According to Jeanne Cheng, SP Services managing director, fibre broadband has decreased the time taken for the call centre operators to accessing the relevant data. She added that the work-from-home scheme has also improved productivity as it "reduces the employees' commuting time, absenteeism and attrition".

The OpenNet Fibre Index Survey reflects the opinions of 500 Singapore citizens and PRs who were a key decision maker or influencer in choice of home broadband. It was conducted between 4 July and 29 August 2013.